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Manitoba Education
Sustainable Development in the Twenty-First Century
A Summary of Perspectives
In the twenty-first century "three interlinked areas are most commonly identified within sustainable development. These are society, environment, and economy, where political aspects are subsumed under the heading of society."
The United Nations reaffirmed these elements at the Johannesburg Summit of 2002. The Johannesburg Summit also formally broadened the vision of sustainable development. Visit the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development website for more information.
The United Nations vision of sustainable development is:
- Society: an understanding of social institutions and their role in change and development, as well as the democratic and participatory systems which give opportunity for the expression of opinion, the selection of governments, the forging of consensus and the resolution of differences.
- Environment: an awareness of the resources and fragility of the physical environment and the affects on it of human activity and decisions, with a commitment to factoring environmental concerns into social and economic policy development.
- Economy: a sensitivity to the limits and potential of economic growth and their impact on society and on the environment, with a commitment to asses personal and societal levels of consumption out of the concern for the environment and for social justice.
The broadening of sustainable development has lead to the formal identification of a number of sub headings. These are summarized in the chart below. The headings that Manitoba will use for its Sustainable Development Report are presented in orange.
Socio-Cultural Perspectives Social Well Being Dimension
- respect for human rights is a sine qua non (indispensable condition or qualification) of sustainable development
- inform policy formulation at all levels
- work towards the adoption of rights based approach to development
- equip people to assert their right to live in a sustainable environment
- may include lobbying and advocacy
Peace and human security
Justice
- the fundamental issue is to enable people to live in an environment of peace and security without the fear of or actually being displaced or becoming refugees
- build skills and values for peace as put forth in UNESCO(United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization charter
- Crime Rate
- the pursuit of gender equality is central to sustainable development where each member of society respects others and plays a role in which they can fulfil their potential
- gender parity in education and educational opportunities important
- change structurally impeded discrimination against women
- mainstream gender issues "throughout educational planning-from infrastructure planning to material development to pedagogical processes" †
- support the full and equal engagement of women "to ensuring balanced and relevant EDS (Education for Sustainable Development) messages, and to give the best chance for changed behaviours for sustainable development in the next generation"†
Cultural diversity and intercultural understanding
Community and culture
- promote tolerance and intercultural understanding
- be included in educational content
- characterize teacher/learner and learner/learner relationships
- use local knowledge as it is a "repository of diversity and a key resource in understanding the environment and in using it to the best advantage for current and future generations."†
- use local languages as well as other languages this " is a factor not only in the healthy
- cognitive development of children, but also in the appreciation, validation and use of what can be learnt directly from daily life and the local community."†
- community engagement (volunteerism), primary language spoken at home
- recognize the close entwining of the issues of development, environment and health
- recognize that ill health hampers economic and social development, triggering a vicious cycle that contributes to unsustainable resource use and environmental degradation
- work to prevent hunger, malnutrition, malaria, water-borne diseases, drug and alcohol abuse, violence and injury, unplanned pregnancy, HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted disease
- "Schools should act not only as centres for academic learning, but also as supportive venues for the provision of essential health education and services, in collaboration with parents and the community."†
- health status, access and quality of care
- "look at alternative approaches to education in situations where orphans, missing teachers, the burden of care and overwhelmed social services make traditional educational approaches dysfunctional or irrelevant"† especially in places such as Africa and parts of Asia
- at local, national and international levels promote government structures that "enable transparency, full expression of opinion, free debate and broad input into policy formation"†
- model and explain this framework
- voting rates, progress towards debt repayment
- population growth, immigration and emigration
- income distribution, income dependency
Environmental Perspectives Natural Environment Dimensions
Natural resources: water, energy, agriculture, biodiversity
Biodiversity and habitat conservation: fish, forests, air, and water
- continue to highlight the importance of environmental education as part of the broader agenda of sustainable development
- stress the links of environmental education with societal and economic consideration
- adopt new behaviours in the protection of the world's natural resources
- recognize that the world's natural resources "are essential for human development and survival"†
- recognize that "Humanity is dependent on the goods and services provided by ecosystems."†
- natural lands and protected area, wildlife species and ecosystems at risk, fish species diversity, and population, commercial fish harvest, forest type and age class, forest renewal, urban air quality index (AQI), greenhouse gases emissions, water quality, and water consumption
- make learners aware of "the crucial need for international agreements and enforceable quantified targets to limit damage to the atmosphere and check harmful climate change"† especially the importance of the Kyoto accord.
- average annual and seasonal temperature, total annual and seasonal precipitation
- address urban/rural disparities such as educational investment and in the quality of the teaching, non-attendance in school, early drop out of students, adult illiteracy and gender equality especially in developing nations
- support multi-sect oral formal and non-formal educational activities" to be linked to the specific needs of the rural community for skills and capacities to seize economic activities, improve livelihood and enhance the quality of life"†
- examine the threats and opportunities cities hold for "social and economic advancement and for environmental improvements at local, national, and global levels."†
Disaster prevention and mitigation
- learn from past experience and projects that" have revealed the enormously positive effects of education for disaster risk reduction"†
Economic Perspectives Economic Dimension
- recognize that " From the point of view of sustainable development, poverty reduction is the central concern of the economic element, but must be understood in relation to the other three elements: social environmental and cultural.†
- acknowledge that "economic considerations, while key to sustainable development, are a contributing factor rather than an overreaching goal"†
Corporate responsibility and accountability
- be aware that the increase in multilateral trade and the increased economic and political power of multinational corporations has an effect on sustainable development
- Education for Sustainable Development "must build a balanced awareness of these economic and financial forces and enable learners to take action to increase public accountability and responsible commercial practices."†
- be come aware of the United Nations Global Compact which "offers an existing framework for advancing responsible corporate citizenship"†
Market economy
Energy efficiency and conservation, Consumption and waste management
- "create global governance systems that harmonize the market more effectively with environmental protection and the goal of equality"†
- advance a "revolution in technology that dramatically increase energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy sources, recycling and waste reduction"†
- "influence regulations and functioning of the market"†
- energy intensity, renewable energy consumed versus total energy consumed
- waste disposal, waste recycled or reused
- real GDP per capita, contributions to GDP by sector
- net farm income, farm structure
- mineral exploration, mineral reserves, mineral production
- labour force trends, labour force participation rates, unemployment rate, employment rate
- readiness to learn, literacy, high school and post secondary education completion
† United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (October 2004). United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014- Draft International Implementation Scheme United Nations.
